Fiat-Chrysler’s Ram Pickup by 2018

"We will be in market by January of '18,” said Marchionne of the new version of FCA's top-selling vehicle in North America, where it made nearly 90% of its first-quarter profit, Reuters reported.

Speaking to reporters at the FCA plant in Windsor, Ontario, Marchionne also said the company will cease production of the Chrysler 200 midsize sedan by the end of this year or in early 2017. Previously he had said the company would stop making the light-selling sedan, but not when.

Marchionne said FCA is still looking for a manufacturing partner to continue to build the Chrysler 200 as well as the compact Dodge Dart sedan.

The FCA CEO was at the Windsor plant to thank its 5,700 hourly and 300 white-collar workers for the launch of the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica minivan, which went into production on Feb. 29. The Pacifica takes the place of two minivans, one of which, the Dodge Grand Caravan, is still produced. Marchionne did not say how much longer the Dodge minivan would be made.

"The underpinning architecture of the Pacifica could be used for the next-generation Chrysler 300 large sedan," he said, and perhaps at Windsor.

The current rear-wheel drive Chrysler 300 is made at FCA's plant in Brampton, Ontario.

"This plant and this architecture is capable of making the 300 successor, the front-wheel, all-wheel drive successor," Marchionne said.